May 18, 2011

Brookins elected leader of Chicago City Council's Black Caucus

South Side Ald. Howard Brookins Jr. was elected chairman of the Chicago City Council's Black Caucus today.

The 21st Ward alderman defeated Ald. Latasha Thomas, 17th, in a vote among African-American aldermen after the council meeting. Thomas declined to serve as vice chairman, Brookins said, so Ald. Michelle Harris, 8th, will hold that post.

Brookins, who was first elected in 2003, said he will focus on making sure African Americans are fairly represented on the council in the upcoming ward remap based on U.S. Census figures. He also pointed to redistributing Chicago police to higher crime neighborhoods and increasing the number of black-owned businesses getting city contracts as points of emphasis.

"I just have to be forceful with it," Brookins said. "If I make an enemy, I make an enemy."

Brookins, 47, is perhaps best known for his long, ultimately successful fight to get the City Council to approve a Wal-Mart in the Chatham neighborhood in his ward. Brookins succeeds Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., 27th, who stepped down earlier this year.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

Past posts

Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.